Guess Things Happen That Way
by fyeahfaberrittana
Summary: Quinn has changed over the summer, she's pushed her friends away, ignored the Glee club trying to find herself. But can she do it alone? Or will Rachel surprise her with some of the pieces to her mess of a life? Faberry centric. Side Brittana.
1. A Surprise

**Disclaimer: Everything here except the idea belongs to the creators of Glee. **

**I woke up with this story in my head. **

**I'm not entirely sure where it's going. I only know it's Faberry and Brittana. Faberry centric. This part came from the mention that Quinn had her 18th birthday over summer. **

**But like I said I have no idea where this is going, or how well it will follow canon. It might be Quinn centric in the beginning, it might switch to Rachel later. No idea. I'm just following it organically. I don't know how long it's going to be, or what is going to happen. **

**Regardless, I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think, reviews help!  
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**Cheers**

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><p>Quinn was bored. Extremely bored. She was sitting at a truck stop watching a man who was nearly old enough to be her father, waiting for Mack. She was getting increasingly irritated with the constant slamming of wheels and wood on pavement, but she had nowhere else to be. She sighed and ran a hand through messy pink hair, eyes shifting around the parking lot. She reached into the pocket of her torn up jean jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a Zippo she stole from some loser at the mall.<p>

As she lit one she thought back to this morning. She had been at her mother's house. She refused to call it home anymore; it hadn't felt like a home in years, nothing had. She had woken up to the smell of bacon coming from downstairs.

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><p><em>Quinn rubbed the sleep from her eyes and followed the heavenly scent towards its' source. Her mother was in the kitchen at the stove humming to herself. It was something cheerful and light and it made her scowl. <em>

_ "What are you doing?" she asked in a scratchy voice. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, taking a sip before continuing. "You haven't made breakfast in months."_

_ "Well good morning to you too, Quinnie." Judy Fabray chuckled. She had been dealing with Quinn's change in behavior as best she could recently, but she was still unsure of how to handle it. _

_ "Don't call me that. And I asked what you're doing." Quinn said icily. _

_ "Can't a woman cook breakfast for her daughter? Especially on her 18__th__ birthday." Judy said turning around and smiling. Quinn's scowl only deepend._

_ "Right, I forgot about that." She said under her breath. She looked over at the calendar. Yes, it was June 30__th__, her 18__th__ birthday. "Whatever. I'm going to get ready."_

_ She didn't wait for an answer and just disappeared up the stairs. Rifling through her room for her rattiest clothes, and hastily threw them on. She walked into her bathroom brushed her teeth and mussed up her hair more than it already was, threw on some eyeliner and headed back down stairs. Her mother was moving stuff from the stove to the table when she looked up at Quinn. _

_ "Here, Quinnie, let's sit down and eat. I made all your favorites. Bacon, waffles with honey, and a side of fresh strawberries." Judy said smiling and sat down at the end of the table. Quinn eyed all the food._

_ "Not hungry." She said and looked up at her mother. Judy's face fell, but only for a moment, before the fake Fabray smile returned. _

_ "That's alright, Quinnie, why don't you sit down so we can talk. Is there anything special you want to do today?" Judy asked her daughter, her attempt to not let the disappointment show._

_ "Don't call me that!" Quinn all but shouted. "And I'm not hungry, and I'm not staying here so we can pretend either one of us gives a shit"-_

_ "Quinn!" Judy scolded, but Quinn didn't stop._

_ "about celebrating my birth. No one has cared for the past 17 years, why bother faking it another. I'm leaving." _

_ Quinn turned and stormed her way out of the front door._

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><p>Quinn was pulled back from her reverie by another slam of wood on cement. This time it was followed by a grunt of pain. She looked over to the manchild skateboarder and smirked when she saw him lying face down in the pavement.<p>

"Fucking loser." She said under her breath. Her cigarette was already gone and as she went to reach for another the slamming of a car door called her attention. She turned her head slightly to the side as she lit her vice, only to see a red mini cooper parked about 50 feet away. She looked around for the owner, not seeing them anywhere; she contemplated breaking into it, seeing if she could find something expensive, like an iPod or a cell phone she could hawk for booze. As she made to push of the shipping container she was leaning on movement caught her eye. It wasn't the manchild skateboarder, but someone smaller, someone walking right towards her with a purpose.

It was Rachel fucking Berry.

Quinn rolled her eyes behind her mirrored aviators, but kept her face cool beyond that. How the high and mighty diva found her she had no idea. There were a lot of truck stops in Lima, as it wasn't exactly the biggest town in the world, truckers had to stop somewhere. Quinn came to this one specifically on the outskirts of town, to avoid this exact thing from happening. She did not want to see anyone she knew. Not because she was ashamed of who she was, she didn't give two shits about that, but because everyone sucked.

Quinn inhaled a deep drag of the cigarette as Rachel neared. She was only about 10 feet from her now, so she couldn't pretend she didn't see her, she was looking right at her. Or she could be a bitch and do that anyway. She was contemplating it and she heard Rachel clear her throat.

Quinn gave her a once over. She was surprised to find the animal sweaters nowhere to be found. Only to be replaced by a tank top and a pair of sinfully short shorts. Both of which clung nicely in all the right places. She also took note of a large paper bag in Berry's hand before meeting her eyes. She looked hesitant and wary, her eyes shifting around the parking lot, and taking in the sight of the skateboarder behind Quinn, before refocusing on her. She cleared her throat once more and stood up straighter.

"Good afternoon, Quinn." Rachel said formally. Quinn scoffed and made sure it was loud enough for the other girl to hear.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she responded caustically.

"Well, it has come to my attention that this is where you and your…friends, congregate."

"And how the hell did you find that out?" She pressed. "Are you stalking me?"

Rachel looked appalled by the accusation. She then put on a determined Rachel Berry face and went into her explanation.

"While I did do some extensive investigatory analysis, no Quinn Fabray, I am not stalking you. As Glee club captain, it is my duty to know where all of you are and how to get into contact with you. Though you have done a fairly wonderful job of ignoring not only me, but the rest of Glee club as well, I have tried talking to you before. We've had meetings since summer started, and you've not been to a single one. I haven't come looking for you until now out of respect for you space, so perhaps you could do me the favor of not being such a deplorable shrew in return."

Quinn pushed off the shipping container and crossed her arms, using her full height against the brunette. She cocked and eyebrow and leaned forward.

"Then why don't you answer my first question, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked in a low voice, straining to keep herself from smacking Berry. Though, if she weren't going to lie to herself, she would admit that Rachel standing up to her that way was sort of bad ass, but she wasn't often honest with herself. So she continued her stare down.

"Well, as I said, being captain of the Glee club often gives me responsibilities to my fellow members so"-

"I'm not part of your Glee club, Berry." Quinn interrupted.

"If you're going to continue to be rude, then I'll just leave."

"Good." Quinn replied. Rachel only looked at her more fiercely and placed her hands on her hips.

"You know what, no, because that' exactly what you want. So I'm going to do what I came here to do, and you're going to listen to everything I have to say. Understand?" Rachel snapped. Quinn was again taken back by the way Rachel was standing up to her.

Rachel herself was also alarmed at the way she was speaking to Quinn Fabray. But she had come here on a mission, and she was going to fulfill that mission before she left.

Quinn relaxed her posture, slumping back up against the wall of the container, and lighting another cigarette, taking her time before answering. She took one long drag and blew it the opposite direction of where Rachel was standing. Turning her head back to look straight forward, she could feel Berry's eyes on the side of her face.

"Alright. I'm listening." Quinn told her. Rachel took a deep breath and began again.

"Thank you, Quinn. As I stated previously, as captain of the Glee club, it is my duty to know certain things about each of you, beginning but not ending with how to contact you. However, today I'm not exactly here on Glee club business."

That caught Quinn's attention, as she was almost sure Rachel was going to start a long winded bitch rant about Quinn not fulfilling Glee club responsibilities and yadda yadda. She turned her head to look at Rachel, nodding to show she was still waiting for her to go on. Rachel sighed and took a few steps so she was standing directly in front of Quinn. This time when Rachel spoke up again her voice was more gentle.

"Look, Quinn, I know that you're going through a lot right now, and like I said, I'm not here about Glee club. I'm not going to force you to come to meeting if it's not what you want, I'm here for you today. I happen to be privy on the knowledge that today the 30th of June is your 18th birthday. I didn't want to let it just go by without some acknowledgment from your friends. I know you don't necessarily consider me to be your friend, but I consider you mine. So I got you a gift."

Quinn continued to passively look at Rachel, though in her mind she was fighting to keep her mouth from falling open in shock. She had never been anything but a heartless bitch to Berry, and here she was giving Quinn a present. Granted it was probably something lame, like a homemade batch of cookies or something, but the thought was there. Quinn didn't even know how Rachel knew it was her birthday. She'd never mentioned it to anyone but Finn, and it wasn't highly likely he would remember. Brittany and Santana knew, but she didn't think they'd care.

"It's not much, but I thought you might like it. There's also something from Santana and Brittany in there. They miss you too, though Santana has outright refused to say so. Brittany made you a card." Rachel handed the paper bag to Quinn. Who noticed that inside were a box wrapped neatly and a card sitting on top. She looked back up at Rachel who nodded.

Quinn knelt down on the pavement setting the bag in front of her and pulled out the card first. Opening the envelope that had her name brightly colored across the front, she pulled out the bit of just as brightly colored paper. On it was a drawing of a tall blonde with blew eyes and a tan brunette and another person who was undoubtedly supposed to be herself. Only when she was still blonde, and wore baby doll dresses. There was a rainbow and a unicorn drawn above them and over the rainbow was two different handwritings. The first one was obviously Brittany, Quinn knew her bubble handwriting, and it was also written in yellow crayon. It wasn't the easiest to read, but it said:

_**Hey Q! Happy birthday! You're finally 18! That's totally awesome, you can buy your own cigarettes now. But I think you should quit, because people who smoke lose years off their life and I want you to be around for a really long time. I'm still trying to get Lord Tubbington to quit, so I know it's hard, but you should try it. I miss you and I love you! –B**_

The next bit was written in slightly sloppier handwriting and in pen obviously from Santana.

_**Q, I have no idea what's going on with you. But B misses you, so whatever it is, you need to fix it. You're making her sad. Happy 18**__**th**__** birthday. Puck is having his 18**__**th**__** birthday party in a few weeks. If you haven't smoked your brain cells away and forgotten when it is you should still come. –S**_

_** P.s. I'm here for you.**_

Quinn took a deep breath and turned her head away from Rachel. She could feel her eyes on her the whole time. But when she looked back up, Rachel had been looking away, obviously to give her a moment. She was actually grateful for. When she turned her head back to make eye contact with Quinn and offered a small encouraging smile. Quinn looked back down at the box in the paper bag and pulled it out.

"Let me guess, you wrapped this." Quinn said. Rachel didn't respond just tucked some hair behind her ear and nudged the ground with her shoe. Quinn looked back down and tore the paper away half hazardly, only to be met with a white box. She glanced back up at Rachel and the pulled the lid off. She tore away the white tissue paper and when her eyes caught sight of what was inside she looked back up at Rachel curiously with her head cocked to the side, before pulling it out and holding it up for inspection.

It was a black leather jacket, similar to one Quinn had been wanting to steal. It was tattered and worn and exactly her size. She stood up with it in her hand, in shock. She looked between the garment and Rachel who still hadn't looked her in the eyes.

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment took a calming breath and then looked directly back into Quinn's green eyes.

"It's pleather. Because I refuse to purchase anything that was taken from an animal, but it will still last you a while." Rachel told her. Quinn was at a loss for words.

"I…don't know what to say." She put the gifts back in the bag and then looked at Rachel head on. She was confused and didn't know exactly how to react, so she did what she usually did, went on the offensive. "Why are you being so nice to me, Berry? It's not like I deserve it, I've never been anything but a bitch to you. So why are you giving me things? Do you think I'll come back to Glee club because you gave me a jacket?"

Rachel just sighed. She had expected this, and as much as she had hoped to avoid it, she had prepared. She crossed her arms over her chest in a non threatening manner, dealing with Quinn was similar to dealing with a cornered lion, you never knew what could happen, and it was best to stay calm.

"No, Quinn. I already told you. This isn't about Glee. It's about you. I just wanted to do something nice for your birthday. No tricks."

Quinn just looked at Rachel, even more confused than before, but she nodded once. For some reason, she believed the girl.

"Look, I know we're not exactly best friends, but if you ever want to get away, you know… My door is always open. Not to mention Brittany and Santana do miss you as well."

Quinn stood there looking at Rachel, too stunned to talk for a moment. She shook her head to gain some clarity. She couldn't let this get to her, and she sure as hell wasn't going to go over to Rachel's house. Like ever. Nor did she want to hang out with Brittany and Santana. They were too close to understanding her. The last thing Quinn wanted to do was get a mirror put in front of her and think about her feelings.

"Okay. Thanks for the jacket Rachel, but I don't think I'll be taking you up on the other offer." Rachel didn't look as if she were going to ask why, but Quinn felt as if she needed to think up a reason anyway. She didn't really have one that would make her seem like less of a heartless bitch, and after what Berry just did for her, she actually didn't want to come off that way. So she scrambled to come up with a lie. Her eyes shifted from Rachel to around the lot.

They landed on the 40 year old skateboarder who was still popping tricks off on his board. Bingo.

"I'll be spending time with my boyfriend." She said gesturing to the man who had just landed some trick. "Won't really have the time."

Rachel looked back over her shoulder and gave a skeptical look at the guy. He was old and obviously a drop out. She turned her head back towards Quinn and frowned.

"Okay. But just remember. If you need anything…you can call me." Quinn just nodded feigning disinterest. She honestly didn't know how she felt about all of this. Between Berry's undeserved kindness and the card from her old best friends, there were too many emotions she was trying to shove aside. She cleared her throat and looked away from Rachel. Focusing her attention back on the nameless skateboarder.

"Well, I'll get going." Quinn just nodded and Rachel turned to walk away. She got about halfway to her car before she stopped and turned around. "Hey, Quinn?"

Quinn turned her head back towards Rachel.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday." Quinn didn't respond and Rachel finished making her way to her car. Quinn's eyes followed her the whole time as she turned the engine over, and continued to do so until she could no longer see the taillights of the mini cooper over the horizon.

Even then she continued to stare in that direction. It wasn't until Quinn heard the slamming of a truck's door that she turned away. She glanced over at a truck that had been parked in the far end of the lot since before she got here, to see Mack jumping out of the cab. She turned back toward the direction Rachel had disappeared to, the sound of gravel crunching under combat boots not pulling her attention back.

"Hell-ooo. What the fuck Fabray, where's your head at girl?" Mack said waving her hand in front of Quinn's face. Quinn turned to look at Mack before smacking her hand away.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Quinn asked still half lost in her own thought.

"I said can I bum a cigarette, and then can we go get some booze. I'm fuckin' parched." Quinn glared at her.

"Where the fuck were you? You couldn't have gotten here like an hour ago when it would have been useful?" Quinn asked all her frustration coming out on the unsuspecting girl.

"Hey! Cool your jets hottie, I was getting some. Damn. What the hell happened?" it was at that precise moment the manchild decided would be a good time to skate over and stop in front of Quinn. Popping his board up into his hand.

"Hey sexy." He directed at Quinn, but not until after throwing a sleezy wink at Mack. "So I heard we're dating. Why don't you say you and me make it official?"

Quinn was now passed her breaking point and slammed a fist into his nose earning a sickening crunch. His knees buckled and he dropped his skateboard as he held his face.

"AH! You bitch!"

"PISS OFF!" Quinn snapped. She leaned down and grabbed the paper bag with the things Rachel had brought her and stocked off.

"Way to go fuck head." Mack said before taking off after Quinn. "Quinn, what the hell happened?"

"Nothing. You said booze right? I think I'm feeling some cheap whiskey today."


	2. Leaving

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the creators of Glee. **

**So I think I've got an idea where this story is going. I still don't know how long it will be, and I don't know how well I'll be sticking to canon. There will be mentions of events happening in this story that have happened in canon. Everything from Seasons 1 and 2 have happened, season 3 is where I might be deviating from the show.**

**I hope you all enjoy.**

**Thanks so much to the people who have read and tagged as favorite story/author. I truly appreciate it.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated, it helps me see where you want this story to go as well as how you think I'm doing. _Constructive_ critisim is always welcome.  
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**Thanks again. Enjoy.**

**Cheers.**

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><p>That night found Quinn and Mack at the railroad tracks near Mack's house. Her father and step-mom had been home, so they broke into their liquor cabinet and stole the nearly full bottle of Jack Daniels and headed out. Mack's parents would never notice. Not that they would care if they knew, her parents were better friends than parents. But it was more likely they'd blame each other for the missing bottle, get into a fight, have incredibly loud make up sex, get stoned and pass out. The girls left in hopes of avoiding being around for that.<p>

Quinn was lying on the ground with her hands under her head staring at the stars. There were millions of them out here. It was one of the only things she liked about Lima, the fact that there were so many clearly visible stars. She remembered being a little girl and going on a family vacation, when she still had a mommy and a daddy and a big sister she looked up to. They'd gone to Los Angeles, California, to Disneyland, and there were almost no stars out.

She and her sister used to lie outside in the grass and name all the constellations. Especially when their parents would argue. Franny would always take Quinn's hand and drag her out to the back yard, far from the lights of the over sized house, and tell Quinn stories about astronauts and aliens, and the heroes in the stars. It had never failed to calm her down. That was until Franny out grew Quinn and grew into boys and moved on. Quinn would still go outside alone at night to think. She'd done it nearly every day when she was pregnant. But she wasn't going to let her mind wander there right now.

"Pass the bottle already. Quit babysitting it." Quinn said as she swatted at Mack's arm.

"Alright, alright. What's with you today? You're being an even bigger bitch than usual." Mack said handing the now half empty bottle to her.

"Nothing is wrong. Today just sucks." Quinn told her throwing back a large gulp and feeling pleased by the burn rolling down her throat to settle in her stomach. "I've been bored out of my mind all day."

"Well it can't have been that uneventful. I mean you still haven't told me what's in that paper bag of yours." Mack said reaching for it. Quinn pulled it out of her reach quickly and glared at her. Mack just rolled her eyes. Quinn sighed and tossed the bag at her chest. She caught it and looked inside. Quinn caught Mack's smirk as she pulled out the colorful card Brittany had made.

"Dude, who drew this? Is she six?" Quinn shot an icy glare at her and put the note inside her jacket pocket before the other girl could read it.

"Piss off."

Mack looked back in the bag and grinned.

"No way. This is fucking rad. Where'd you steal it from?" she asked holding the jacket up. She put it on and checked herself out as best she could.

Quinn contemplated lying to her friend and saying she stole it. But she didn't much feel like coming up with a story. So she shrugged.

"It was a gift." She took another long swig of the whiskey.

"Damn. I hope you screwed the brains out of whoever gave it to you. This is legit badass."

Quinn spit out a mouthful of the alcohol at Mack's statement, some of it burning it's way out of her nose, as the image of Rachel Berry like _that _filled her mind. Mack just laughed at her.

"What the fuck, M?" Quinn sneered rubbing her face on the bottom of her jean jacket.

"Well come on, it's totally sick. So who gave it to you and why? I mean I like you and all but if I got my hands on this I sure as hell wouldn't just give it to you. You'd have to like, pleasure me a little or something first." Mack said dodging Quinn's foot as she kicked it in the direction of her shin.

"Jesus, you're so classy." Quinn said.

"Well who gave it to you?" she pressed ignoring her friend.

"It was a birthday present…" Quinn paused "from Berry." Mack looked at her with a confused face.

"Barry? That trucker I slept with two weeks ago?" she asked seriously. Quinn gave her and incredulous look.

"What? No, Rachel Berry."

"Oh, that obnoxious gleek from school?" Quinn nodded. "I thought she had terrible taste…and that you hated her."

Quinn ignored that comment, preferring not to discuss any feelings what so ever.

"Wait, did you say it was your birthday?" Mack asked after a minute.

"I did." Quinn responded as she lit a cigarette and inhaled a long drag.

"Bitch!" Mack yelled and slapped Quinn hard on the back, causing her to choke on the smoke in her lungs and cough uncontrollably.

"Wh-what…the…h-hell?" Quinn asked between coughs.

"I'm assuming your 18." Quinn nodded still catching her breath. "That means we have to celebrate. Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn just shrugged.

"'Cause it doesn't matter."

"Whatever, it's a great excuse to do something fun and stupid." Quinn thought about it for a moment.

"Like what?"

"I have no idea yet. But it will be epic. Come on get up." Mack said offering Quinn her hand.

"Fine but take my jacket off and give it to me." Mack rolled her eyes and shrugged out of the coat handing it back down to her pink haired companion. Quinn grabbed it and got up ignoring the offered help up.

"Can we at least watch the fight that's on tonight, while you're thinking?"

"Hells yes we can." They turned around and headed back towards the house.

It didn't take them long to get there, and by the time they did Quinn was good and drunk. She was sprawled out on the couch, converse clad feet on one arm rest, her right arm lazily curled above her head, and her left holding onto the pleather jacket draped over her. Her attention was focused on the large HD TV on the wall. The best thing about Mack's house, other than the booze, was the 56" big screen TV. They always watched the fights and got hammered.

"Fuck!" Mack exclaimed from her spot on the recliner making Quinn start. She looked over at the brunette, but her features were hazy, causing the green eyed girl to blink a few times for her eyes to focus.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't think of anything to do besides getting wrecked or fucking." Quinn scoffed.

"I'm already drunk and not gonna happen." She told her refocusing on the screen. "You really don't do much besides fight people, bang people, and drink, so that's not exactly exciting."

"I know that's why I said I couldn't think of anything. Besides it was worth a try." Mack said. Quinn half grinned and rolled her eyes.

The fight was taking a good turn. They had placed bets on who would win and the guy she bet on was currently getting Mack's guy in a gnarly looking arm bar. A moment later and the opposing fighter tapped out.

"Damn it all!" Mack shouted, and Quinn was hit in the chest by a pack of cigarettes, her prize for winning. "You always win."

Quinn just smirked and went back to watching the next match.

Another hour or so went by and Quinn wasn't as drunk, but she didn't feel much like going home. Her mom could bitch at her later for not telling her where she was. She didn't particularly care. She hadn't had her phone on her at all for the past month, resulting in multiple fights with her mother. She was getting better at ignoring them. With her eyes on the screen she started zoning out until the loud roar of a train horn called her attention. With that, from the corner of her eye Quinn saw Mack shoot up right from the slouched position she was in. Quinn gave her, her best what-the-fuck-face.

"I've got it!"

"Got what?" Quinn asked.

"It's equal parts rad as fuck and stupid. It's perfect!"

"What exactly are you talking about?" she pressed. Mack looked over at her and smirked.

"Your 18th birthday celebration. I know what we're doing."

Quinn waited for her to go on but she didn't.

"Well what is it?"

"Oh, you'll see. You're gonna dig it. But we have to wait for tomorrow, because even I'm not dumb enough to try it drunk." Mack said nodding her head.

"What the hell are you on about?"

"Chill out, Quinn. It's gonna rock, just trust me."

Quinn had a problem with that. She wasn't generally one for trusting, but she nodded anyway.

"Fine."

"Great. I'm fucking tired. I'm going to bed. You good out here? Or are you finally going to sleep with me?" Mack asked standing up.

"Go to bed." Quinn said shaking her head and flipping off the TV.

"Suit yourself, I woulda rocked your world." Mack said flipping off the light and leaving. Quinn let herself half smile at her friend's antics. She turned over towards the back of the couch and pulled the pleather jacket over her head curling up and trying to fall asleep. Her mind wandered back to this morning's events. She still wasn't sure how she felt about everything that had happened. With Berry showing up and giving her a gift, and honestly a righteous gift at that, and the card from Brittany and Santana. She sighed and curled in tighter to herself, trying to shut her mind off. She started to feel herself drift off. The last thing she remembered seeing behind her eyes was Rachel.

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><p><strong>Hello, Daddy! Hello, Mom! <strong>

** I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!**

Quinn bolted upright, her heart pounding, as she looked around trying to asses her surroundings and find out where she was. She wasn't at her house, she was at Mack's. The girl who was currently jumping her way into the kitchen, having just blasted The Runaway's from the surround sound. Quinn groaned and flopped back into the couch.

"Bitch!" Quinn shouted at her friend.

"Get your sweet as up Lion Quinn! We've gotta swing by your place soon." Quinn's eyebrow shot up and she rubbed her eyes. She sat up and shook her head, running a hand half hazardly though her hair and stalked into the kitchen where Mack was sitting on the counter eating a bowl of cereal.

"Eat something too. I'm already packed and ready to go. I've got some food, and some money." She said through a mouthful of special K. Quinn looked at her like she had three heads.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mack rolled her eyes.

"Just do what I say."

"Why do we have to go to my house? I'd rather not. My mother might be home." Quinn said going into the fridge and pulling out an apple.

"Dude, it's Monday. Where do you think my good for nothing parents are?"

"Is it really?" Mack nodded before drinking the milk from her bowl.

"Come on; let's get to your place so you can get some shit together."

"What are we even going to do?' Quinn asked following Mack from the kitchen, stopping to turn off the surround sound, and pick up a back pack.

"I'll tell you later, like I said, just do what I say." She said holding the door open for Quinn.

They walked the few miles to Quinn's house; it was almost eleven by the time they got there. When they got inside Quinn headed for the stairs and Mack headed towards their kitchen.

"What exactly do I need?" Quinn asked before Mack disappeared around the corner.

"Pack like an extra set of clothes, wear comfortable shoes, and bring money if you've got any. I'll grab some more food." Quinn just nodded and headed back up her stairs to her room.

She tossed the pleather jacket on her bed and headed towards her bathroom. She brushed her teeth quickly and washed her face with cold water before reapplying some eyeliner. She tied her wild hair up in a bandana, grabbed her toothbrush and went back to her room. She changed into some tattered jeans, a cut off t-shirt, and wrapped a flannel around her waist. She dug through her closet for another pair of black jeans and another torn up shirt. She tossed them in a back pack with her favorite ratty jean vest and tossed it on her bed.

She was looking around her room for her wallet, where her bank card and some cash was. Thanks to her bullshit excuse for a father, she actually had quite a bit of money. Not that she ever used it, since it was from him, but she figured she'd take it just in case. He father had been paying her mother child support for the past two years, being who they were it was a hefty amount. Her mother made enough money so she could take care of things around the house, so she put the child support directly into a bank account for Quinn. Half of it went away to a college fund, not that Quinn thought about college anymore.

She finally found her wallet in a drawer in her desk. Next to it sat her iPhone. She grabbed the wallet and paused deciding whether or not to bring the electronic device. She decided to bring it along, at the very least for music sake. She snatched it up and turned it on. She stuffed her wallet in the back pack and set the phone down on her bedside dresser. She grabbed her most comfortable pair of combat boots and sat down on the bed to lace them up. Her phone lit up and vibrated multiple times and she glanced over it at, while she grabbed the charger and headphones to put into her pack. She pulled the card from Brittany and Santana out of the pocket of the other jean jacket, debating whether to toss it or keep it. Finally deciding, she shoved it into the inner pocket of the pleather jacket.

She picked up her phone and inspected the messages. There were several text messages from her mother, from over the past few weeks. There were 24 missed calls and 12 voicemail messages. She sighed and grabbed her pack and pleather jacket, slinging the former over her shoulder, as she pressed play on her answering machine.

She made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Mack had a few bottles of water, a jar of peanut butter, and some other random snack foods sprawled out on the counter, and was currently shoving some of it into her own pack.

"What took you so long?" She asked Quinn. Quinn just held her hand up, and skipped a message. She rolled her eyes as she kept skipping and deleting messages. 9 of the twelve were from her mother, going from panicked to increasingly irate. It was the last three that caught her off guard. They were from yesterday. She pressed play on the first one.

_"Hey, Q! It's B and…" _Quinn heard some shuffling and some mumbling that sounded like 'say it' and then 'fine!' _"And Santana." _Quinn rolled her eyes at the stubbornness of the girl on the end of the line. The message played on and it was Brittany who spoke again. _"We just wanted to call and tell you we miss you and love you and hope you have a really happy birthday. I hope you got your card. Well if you want to give us a call back or something, you can reach us at either mine or San's cell phone." _There was another pause some more shuffling and mumbled insistence before a reluctant Santana took the phone.

_"Yeah, happy birthday or whatever."_ The next bit Quinn heard sounded like Santana covering the receiver and telling Brittany to give her a minute, there was a pause and then she spoke again. _"Listen Q, you know I'm not really any good at this, but B is right, we do miss you. She does especially, if you can't do it for you or for me, maybe you could at least shoot her a text or something, so she knows you're alive. Anyway, happy birthday. And…" _Santana paused again for another few seconds before quickly saying_: "Call me if you need anything." _and hanging up.

Quinn held the phone away from her ear for a second and stared at it. She hit save instead of delete and put the device back to her ear.

_"Uh, hey. I know it's like you're birthday, so I thought I'd call and see how you're doing. But you didn't answer. I didn't expect you to, but yeah. Happy 18__th__ birthday. I guess I'll try you again later." _This time Quinn immediately hit delete. It was from Puck. She had received texts and the occasional e-mail from him, and she always ignored it. That was one road she was not going to venture down. She finally hit play on the last message and held the phone to her ear.

_"Hello Quinn. This is Rachel Berry. I know I spoke to you this morning, but I figured you didn't have my number, so I'd call you so you would. I also wanted to wish you happy birthday again. I don't know what you're up to, but I hope you have fun. Like I said earlier, if you need anything, you can call me. Well have a good evening, good-bye." _

This time Quinn pulled the phone away from her ear. She stared for a good thirty seconds before she heard the voicemail lady asking if she was still there. She shook her head and before she realized it she was hitting save instead of delete. When she tucked her phone back into her pocket she looked up to see Mack staring at her with an eyebrow cocked.

"What?" She asked and started shoving the rest of the food in her own pack.

"It took you long enough. Who the hell was that?" She asked making a gesture towards Quinn's phone.

"It was no one. So what are we doing that we need all this crap?" Quinn deflected. One of the best things about Mack, she took a hint well.

"Well, follow me." She said and slung her back pack over her shoulders and headed towards the door. Quinn hastily shrugged into the pleather jacket, strapped her pack on, and sprinted out the door after her.

* * *

><p>Quinn followed the brunette for nearly an hour. Walking right out of the town limits. She didn't even question it. She didn't particularly care about leaving Lima. In fact she was starting to like the idea more and more. Mack changed directions and started heading north off the paved road, Quinn following easily.<p>

She looked around her. There wasn't much out here. They were walking in the middle of some field of dead grass. The sky was blue with only a few white clouds placed here and there. She wasn't paying attention some minutes later, still staring into the sky, when she heard a loud train whistle blow. The girl in front of her stopped and she plowed right into the back of Mack.

"What the hell?" She said shaking her head. "Why'd we stop?"

"Shit. We've gotta hide or they'll call the bulls." Mack said and looked down the line. They were clearly visible from where they were standing. "There's some bushes over on the other side of the tracks, follow me." She said and ran across the tracks; Quinn was only stunned for a second before sprinting after her. They ducked behind some bushes and waited.

Quinn watched with interested as the freight train made its way slowly down the line. There were hundreds of cars she could already tell from here. There was different graffiti on each one. The engine passed by with another, extremely loud, blow of the whistle.

"It's going slow enough. We got lucky fast." Mack said and smirked at Quinn.

"Wait what?" Quinn asked as she looked away from the train to Mack.

"We're going to hop it of course. It's going really slow; it must have stopped in Lima. We'll be able to get onto it easy. It's headed west." She said pointing.

"This is my birthday celebration?" Quinn asked looking back at the different colored cars passing. She saw Mack nod from the corner of her eyes. She felt herself smirk. "That's the best idea you've ever had."

"That's my girl." Mack said. "We should be good now, let's get closer to the tracks." Quinn nodded and stood and walked from around the shrubs. They were standing about five feet from the tracks now; she could feel the wind blow from around the cars as they passed. She smiled at the feeling.

"This was seriously sheer luck. We want to hop onto one of the box cars. That's luxury riding right there." Mack pointed to one of the passing box cars with an open door. She was growing more excited and pleased with herself for coming up with such a fantastic plan.

"Okay how do we do this?" Quinn asked.

"On the count of three. Run. As fast as you can and you're aiming to grab onto the ladder on the back of the car. It's easy to get in from the top. Alright. Are you ready, Lion Quinn?" Quinn nodded. Her adrenaline was pumping and she was definitely ready to get out of Lima.

"Okay, this one." Mack said point to a car a coming towards them. One…two…" she paused for a second before it was right in front of them then shouted, "THREE! RUN!"

Quinn did just that, her strong legs propelling her forward towards the car moving away from her, at least Cheerios had been good for something. Running on track rocks wasn't easy, but the boots helped. She ended up in front of Mack and was able to get to the car first. She held her hands out in front of her still sprinting and grabbed onto the ladder. As soon as her grip was tight she pulled her legs up and started climbing. She looked down and saw Mack do the same.

She smiled and kept climbing until she got the very top. Pulling herself all the way up and crawling forward she flipped over onto her back and started laughing. Mack flopped down right beside her and held her hand up for a high five which Quinn gave.

"Damn-girl." Mack said trying to catch her breath. "You…booked it. That was bad ass."

"That was the best feeling ever." Quinn said, not at all winded. Mack turned towards Quinn and shook her head.

"No. You haven't felt the best part yet." She said and turned over on her stomach. Mack pushed herself up and held her arms out. "This is the best part!" she shouted.

Quinn smiled and stood up. The rush of the wind in her face as the freighter picked up speed, she could feel her hair flipping wildly in the wind. She turned her head around towards Lima, and barely saw the town on the horizon. When she faced forwards she took a deep breath and held her arms up.

"FREEDOM!"


	3. If You Can't Help Your Own

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the creators of Glee.**

**This isn't my favorite chapter, it did feel a little forced and filler, but not to worry, it'll get better. **

**This chapter follows Rachel, so I hope you enjoy. Her voice was a little hard to get after Punk!Quinn, so leave reviews let me know how I did and let me know what you think of the story so far and where you'd like to see it go.**

**Cheers!**

* * *

><p>Rachel drove up to the front of the Hummel-Hudson household and put her car into park. She glanced up at the large house to see Finn standing as tall as ever in the doorway waiting for her with a large dopey smile on his face. She waved, but paused another moment before getting out of her car. She collected her things and looked at her phone for the 50th time that day. She hadn't heard anything back from Quinn after her surprise visit to the truck stop yesterday, though she wasn't necessarily expecting anything, she was more <em>hoping<em> Quinn would respond.

Whether or not Quinn felt the same way, she was still part of the Glee club, they were a family and they looked out for each other. That is, when they weren't trying to destroy each other in a fight for a solo spot. But other than that, they all cared about each other. Rachel was worried about Quinn, and as much as she had tried to get the other members to do something about it, most of them outright refused telling her "Quinn probably just needs to figure things out for herself."

Rachel knew it wasn't out of spite or dislike for the Fabray girl, they just didn't know how to handle it. Truth being told, Rachel didn't really know how to handle it either. So far Brittany and Santana were the only ones who had expressed, perhaps more so Brittany had expressed, their growing concern for their former best friend. They'd talked briefly about it and had come to agree that for now they'd just make sure Quinn knew they were there.

Rachel looked up when a large shadow was cast over her window. She glanced up in time to see Finn opening the door for her. She smiled at his chivalry, it wasn't normally his strong suit, and stepped out.

"Hey. What took you so long?" He asked bending over nearly in half to kiss her on the cheek.

"Sorry. I was just getting my things together." Rachel responded shutting her door.

"It's okay. Come inside. My mom made some awesome cookies. I think Kurt gave her some vegan recipe, and they're actually really good." He said as he took her small hand in his much larger one. Rachel perked up at the mention of Finn's step brother.

"How sweet of them. Is Kurt home?" she asked as they walked through the threshold.

"Yeah. Hey Kurt!" Finn shouted in a less than delicate manner up the stairs. There was a shuffle of noise, and the opening of the door, followed by bare feet making their way down the stairs. Kurt's slack clad legs and coordinating lapelled shirt came into view as he descended the stairs.

"Finn, how many times have we gone over this? If you need me, use your legs and your inside voice." Kurt said to his step brother before he caught sight of Rachel; which stopped him in his tracks before he started down the stairs at a quicker rate.

"Rachel! I didn't know you were coming to grace our humble abode with your presence." He directed at her, then looking at Finn continued. "Why didn't you tell me she was coming over?"

Finn's eyes widened before he answered.

"Well she is kind of my girlfriend. I didn't exactly think I had to tell you when she was coming over."

"Girlfriend, shmirlfriend, she's still my friend." Kurt reprimanded.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. If I had known Finn didn't mention it I would have called you myself." Rachel insisted stepping forward to claim the fashionable lad in a warm embrace.

"Oh, I suppose it's fine. I understand that young love needs room to breathe." Kurt responded his eyes taking a dreamy distanced look.

"Speaking of which, where is Blaine?" Rachel asked. She saw Finn roll his eyes.

"I'm sure if he's not here, he will be soon." He said, and Kurt shot him a glare.

"Don't be so jealous. Just because my partner actually wants to spend time with me."

"Blaine has been here almost every day this summer, and when he's not Kurt's with him." Finn told Rachel. Not that she didn't know how much the two boys were spending time together. She and Kurt had kept in touch the most out of the Glee club. She even spoke to him more often than Finn. Not that he needed to know that. Kurt just happened to be better conversation than Finn.

"Well if you must know, negative Nancy, Blaine is at a Warblers meeting. But he will be coming over to go out for coffee afterward. You two are free to join in as well." Kurt said motioning to Rachel and Finn.

"Right." Finn said. I can't, you know I've got…stuff to do."

"What stuff, Finn? I thought we were spending time together today?" Rachel asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, yeah that's what I meant. See, we can't go." Rachel narrowed her eyes at him.

"Actually, I'd love to go. I've been in my house nearly all weekend. It would be nice to go out. If you don't want to go then you don't have to. I'll spend time with you until Blaine gets here, then the three of us will go out." She told him. Finn just sighed.

"Okay. Do you wanna watch a movie?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Awesome, I just rented this awesome zombie flick on my Xbox. I'll go set it up." Rachel nodded and Finn walked into the living room. Kurt turned back to face her with a grin.

"Well mind if I crash movie time? Or do you want to spend alone time with my lug of a brother?" He asked looping his arm in hers. She laughed and shook her head as they made their way after Finn.

"It's absolutely your choice. It is your house, Kurt. Plus I love spending time with both of you." She told him as they entered the living room. Finn was finishing setting up the Xbox and getting the movie up on Netflix. When he sat down on the couch and looked up, he glanced between Rachel and Kurt and then held his arm out for the former. She smiled at Kurt and disentangled herself from him and sat up next to Finn's large side. Kurt sat down in an armchair and curled his feet up. When everyone was settled Finn hit play and pulled Rachel further into him.

A few minutes passed and Finn lowered his head closer to Rachel's ear and spoke quietly so Kurt wouldn't hear him.

"I thought we were going to spend some alone time together." He said sounding dejected. Rachel turned her head to look at him.

"We're spending time together. Kurt just asked if he could join us, and it's his house too. If you wanted to be alone you should have said so and we could have done this in your room, but you didn't say. I didn't realize it was that important to you."

"We could still go to my room." Finn said and pulled Rachel a little closer. She pulled back a little more and gave him a stern look.

"No, Finn that would be rude. We're all spending time together, and it's nice, so relax and watch the movie you've chosen. It's actually quite good." She told him and turned her gaze to the large television and the hoards of zombies attacking people.

About three quarters of the way through the movie Rachel had determined were there to be a zombie apocalypse, she would be well suited to take care of herself and hopefully those she loved, as she thought she was prepared with the necessities. Kurt and Finn gave her inquisitive looks when she stated such.

"I'm only saying, one must always be prepared for hostile circumstances. It's not entirely improbable for a zombie apocalypse to occur. Certain skills such as proper firearm usage, basic survival skills, and strategic knowledge would be necessary." She told Finn and Kurt who were still looking at her oddly.

"You really think that this," Kurt began and gestured to the television screen "could really happen? And you think we should be prepared?"

"Correct. It's not impossible for someone to contract some terrible disease and for said disease to mutate and effectively mutilate the brain chemistry so much that said individual would become a, for lack of a more suitable term, zombie." Rachel stated mater-o-factly while smoothing out the pleats in her skirt.

"Huh…well do you actually know how to use guns and do the other things you listed?" Kurt asked with a perfectly manicured eyebrow aloft.

"As a matter of fact I do. My fathers have always believed in my safety and my knowledge of self protection was highly important to them. Thus they enrolled me in martial arts as well as dance and my vocal lessons. I have also completed a few weapons training classes, including proper firearm safety and use. Now of course this wasn't necessarily brought on by their fear of a zombie apocalypse that had them getting me defense savvy, there are more dangers out there besides impending disease outbreak."

"Wait you have guns?" Finn asked with an excited edge in his voice. Rachel looked at him and nodded.

"Well, I don't personally have guns, but my fathers do. I just know how to use them." She said. "I wouldn't prefer it. I deplore the use of violence. If there's a way to defuse something without it, I don't understand why one wouldn't."

"Holy crap, your dads have guns." Finn said his face paling. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Why have you let people treat you the way they do if you know martial arts?" Kurt asked.

"Like I said, why should I use violence and bring myself down to their level?" she responded.

"Because McKinley is terrible and people like Azimio deserve to be laid out." Kurt told her. She just smiled and shook her head.

"Only in self defense."

There was a loud knock on the door and Kurt's face lit up and he jumped out of his chair. Rachel looked up at Finn who had been silent for a few moments. He was staring blankly at the T.V. still looking pale. She put her hand on his face and brought his eyes to meet hers.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He swallowed hard.

"Y-you said your dads have guns." She looked at him for another moment before she burst out laughing. He looked mildly offended and embarrassed. Rachel removed herself from his arms and stood up.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Finn." She said and as she was about to turn around she decided to poke some fun at him. "You'll be fine…as long as you don't do anything to hurt me."

The boy's eyes widened impossibly.

"Wait what?" he asked his voice an octave higher. She laughed some more and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.

"I'm only joking, Finn. My father's are wonderful men, and enjoy the use of violence as much as I do."

Rachel straightened up as she heard Blaine and Kurt come back in the living room.

"Hey, guys! How's it going?" Blaine asked as he moved into the room. Rachel smiled and made her way to give him a warm hug.

"It's going well. How are you?" She asked. He nodded.

"I'm great. So will you be joining us for coffee?" he asked kindly.

"Of course." Rachel said and then turned towards her boyfriend. "Finn?"

Finn looked between the three of them and shook his head.

"No, you can go without me."

"Are you sure? We really wouldn't mind, and it would be fun." Blaine offered again seeing Rachel's smile falter.

"Nah, it's fine. I'll just catch you later or something. I'm just going to play some video games." Kurt's eyes widened and he looked between Rachel and Finn as her frown deepened. He cleared his throat and grabbed Blaine's hand.

"Well, we'll be waiting in Blaine's car." Kurt said and dragged his boyfriend out of the house. Rachel watched them exit and looked back to Finn as he stood and started setting up his game.

"Is something the matter, Finn?" She asked.

"Kind of" He paused and straightened up. "I just don't want to go out with them. And you don't want to stay here and spend time with me; we haven't really gotten to spend a lot of alone time together."

"I didn't mean for it to upset you, but I don't want to be cooped up all day. Why don't you want to go out with us?" she asked. He heaved and exasperated sigh, grabbed his controller, and plopped down on the sofa.

"I just don't want to. I want to stay here with you." He said and looked up at her. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I don't want to watch you play video games right now. How about later this week we'll go out together, on a date. Just you and me." She offered.

"Okay." He said and turned his attention to the game. Rachel frowned again and turned to leave.

"I'll see you later, Finn." She said as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door.

"Bye, Rachel." He shouted from his spot on the couch.

Rachel walked swiftly out of the house and got into the backseat of the small sedan Blaine drove. Blaine started the car and pulled out of the driveway as Kurt looked back at her with sympathy on his face.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Kurt asked.

"I'm fine." She sighed and ran a hand through her dark hair. "Just a little annoyed."

"I'm sorry; my brother is such a clueless buffoon sometimes." He said and Rachel laughed.

"You know what will help?" Kurt asked with a big grin taking over his features. Rachel shook her head.

"Car-eoke!" he said causing Rachel to laugh already moving on from the minor confrontation. Kurt commandeered Blaine's iPod. "What should we start with, and no P!nk or Katy Perry!" He said directing at his boyfriend who laughed.

"Let's do Broadway." Blaine said. "There are always winners on that playlist."

"Oh, my man I love him so." Kurt said dreamily clutching his heart. Rachel smiled at her companions.

After a several songs from _Chicago, Rent, _and of course a duet by Kurt and Rachel from _Wicked_, they made it to the Lima Bean. Rachel having completely forgotten the squabble with Finn.

When they gave their orders and collected their coffees they found a booth by the windows. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too extremely hot out for the summer time. It was a lovely clear day in Lima, Ohio, and Rachel couldn't think of a better way to spend it. The three of them sat in comfortable silence sipping on their drinks enjoying each other's company and the warm light filtering in through the window. Rachel fiddled around in her purse for her phone. When she found it she checked to see if she had any new messages again. Seeing she hadn't, she placed it back in her purse, and looked back out the window.

"It's such a beautiful day." She said. Both boys nodded in agreement. Rachel turned her attention to them and smiled.

"So, Blaine how was Warbler's practice? All well behind enemy lines?" she asked with a laugh in her voice.

"Oh, you know I can't give you the details." He replied with a wink. "Actually, it went alright. But, it's been a little more difficult, now that Kurt is gone, they're back to giving me all the solo parts."

"I don't see the problem." Rachel said jokingly, with a smile in Kurt's direction. Ever since New York, things between Kurt and her had never been better. He was the closest person to her beside her fathers. They'd shared an experience people their age only dreamed about. They didn't want to fight each other in Glee club anymore. Rather, they wanted to help each other along the way to make their dreams come true. Kurt gave her a knowing smile, like he was thinking along the same lines, and held his hand out across the table to squeeze her own warmly. Blaine laughed and shook his head.

"I mean, of course, don't get me wrong. I'm absolutely flattered that I get them, and I love singing and performing. It's just rather exhausting having to carry so much of the weight, and daunting that if I screw something up, it's all on me. I feel like I'm stealing the spotlight from a lot of those guys." he said.

"Why can't anyone else get some of the solos if you don't want them? I mean in Glee club we usually have to all but kill each other for a chance at them." Rachel asked taking a sip of her coffee. Kurt laughed.

"Mhm, it's true. But the Warbler's are different. They don't have a choir director like we have Mr. Schue, there's a council of senior Warbler's and they decide who get's to do what songs. I wouldn't have gotten the chance to sing at Regionals if it hadn't been for this one." Kurt told her and nudged Blaine, who smiled lovingly at him.

"You deserved those songs, Kurt." He said and wrapped Kurt's hand in his own, before looking back at Rachel. "Many of the other guys deserve a shot too, and I've been trying to work with council on it. That's pretty much what we were working on today. Setting up auditions."

"Ah, I see, well I hope all of it works out for you. But, you know that won't stop us from killing you at Sectionals this year." Rachel said smiling. They all laughed and Blaine nodded.

"Oh, I know. But, you'll have to take it from us, because the Warbler's are looking pretty good so far."

"Plus, they are actually practicing over the summer." Kurt said.

"Whose side are you on?" Rachel asked still with humor in her voice. Kurt smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm just saying, it's not easy getting our Glee club together for much, let alone summer practice. Finn doesn't do anything but play video games with Puckerman, I haven't heard from Artie in a few days, Mercedes is visiting her brother out of town for a week, Mike and Tina are daytime counselors at Asian camp again, so they don't have a lot of time for rehearsals. And since Sam moved we're down one person. Brittany and Santana are doing god knows what, and when's the last time anyone heard from Quinn? She's just disappeared off the face of the Earth." With the mention of the last three Rachel stuck her hand into her purse and checked her phone again.

"Hot date?" Kurt asked, making Rachel look up from her phone. There were still no messages.

"No, but I saw Quinn yesterday, and I talked to Santana and Brittany the other day." Kurt nearly choked on his drink and Blaine rubbed soothing circles on his back as he held his chest coughing. Rachel gave him a concerned look.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Kurt stopped coughing and looked at her with disbelief.

"You said you saw Santana, and Brittany…_and_ Quinn?" he asked incredulously. "Not even I have seen Santana and Brittany. Santana has calmed _somewhat_. And the whole thing with the Bully Whips was an incredibly sweet gesture, but still, Santana isn't the most approachable person to walk the halls of McKinley."

"I'm aware. She's not the most approachable person outside of school either, but Brittany was there. She tends to soften the blow." Rachel said taking a long sip of her coffee.

"Santana didn't seem too bad to me. Especially on the Night of Neglect." Blaine said sharing a look with Kurt.

"That's true, but like I said, that was only because she's calmed a little over the last few months. I've told you all the harsh things that girl has done to people. Rachel and me included." Kurt said his thumb rubbing the back of Blaine's hand. Blaine nodded in understanding.

"So what was the reason you saw them if that's the case?" Blaine asked curiously. Rachel took a deep breath and heaved a sigh running her fingers through her hair.

"Quinn." She said making eye contact with the boys.

"How is she doing?" Kurt asked finishing his coffee. "I mean since none of us have heard from her, I kind of miss her. How did you even get a hold of her?"

"As far as how she's doing I'm honestly not sure… and how I got a hold of her, well let's just say I spent more time at gas stations than I ever hoped to." Rachel said thinking back to her brief interaction with the blonde.

"We never do know what to expect from her do we?" Kurt began looking between his boyfriend and Rachel. "I mean wasn't she supposed to have some huge scandal in New York? Then it ended up being Santana going off, with Quinn holding her back."

Kurt laughed when Rachel cringed.

"Don't remind me." She said thinking back to the extremely heated Santana Lopez cursing Spanish at her.

"What were you seeing Britt and Santana for about Quinn?" Kurt pressed.

"Well, they have expressed concern for their former best friend as well, and yesterday was her birthday and"- Kurt cut Rachel off.

"It was her birthday yesterday?" he asked with a sad look in his eyes. Rachel only nodded before going on.

"So they wanted to see her. I suggested that perhaps the three of us showing up at once might just push Quinn too far." Rachel sighed again and checked her phone once more. "She just seems so sad…Anyway, I took Quinn a present and a card from Santana and Brittany yesterday morning."

"You keep checking your phone. Is there a call you're waiting for?" Rachel looked up at Kurt and blushed, though she wasn't sure why.

"No, I'm not. I just gave Quinn my number yesterday after our meeting." She told them.

"So you're hoping she contacts you?" Kurt asked.

"No." she answered quickly. "I mean yes, but I don't know. More of I hope she understands that we're all here for her. That's what I tried telling her yesterday."

"Why you, Rachel?" Kurt began causing Rachel to frown. "Why not her mother or even Britt and Santana? I mean don't call me cold hearted, because I do care about Quinn, but honestly when has she ever done anything remotely helpful for us in a time of need?"

Rachel frowned deeper and looked down at her hands. A lock of hair falling in her face as she lifted her head to look back out the window at the clear day. She tucked it back behind her ear before looking back at the boys.

"I honestly don't know…I just didn't want her birthday to pass without a friend around…I know how that feels." She told them, the last part coming out quietly. Blaine and Kurt both gave her sympathetic looks before each reaching for one of her hands.

"You know you don't ever have to feel like that again. I'm only sorry we weren't friends sooner." Kurt said. Blaine nodded his agreement. Rachel smiled largely at them.

"Thanks. I love you guys." She said squeezing their hands. "What more could a future Broadway star ask for?"

"Oh nothing of course." Blaine said. "Every Broadway star needs a group of gays to keep sanity intact." Kurt and Rachel laughed before the former added;

"And too keep you dressed accordingly." They all shared a loud laugh before calming down.

"Well are you boys ready?" Rachel asked. "It's such a nice day, perhaps we should take a walk down by the river, or the park!"

"Woah now cowgirl. These designer boots don't do river." Kurt stated as they stood, gesturing to his white boots.

"Oh, come on Kurt, she's right it's a beautiful day, we should enjoy it." Blaine said. "Please?" Rachel and Blaine gave him their biggest puppy eyes and Kurt looked between them helplessly before sighing in defeat.

"Fine. But I'm wearing the extra shoes you have in your trunk." He said poking Blaine in the chest.

"Yay!" Rachel exclaimed. Blaine grabbed all of their empty coffee cups and went to dispose of them. Rachel was about to move towards the door when Kurt grabbed her wrist and spun her towards him, and enveloped her in a warm hug.

"You're such a good person, Rachel. I'm sorry, I ever doubted you." He said in her hair. She smiled and hugged him tighter.

"Thank you." She said as they parted. "You know you're not half bad yourself. I guess we're both more than just high spirited divas."

They squeezed each other's hands firmly before Blaine came back and they all headed for the car to drive to the river.


	4. Long Hauls

**Disclaimer: Characters of Glee belong to RIB.**

**So sorry about the extremely long time between updates. I really have no excuse. My muse just wasn't with me. Life got crazy, but I think I can manage to get an update a bit more often now. I have a better idea of where I want this to go. Hope you're still reading and enjoying. Let me know what you think, if you have an ideas. An possible places Quinn and Mack should visit? Let me know in a review. **

**Cheers**

* * *

><p>The temperature was dropping as the sun disappeared over the horizon, but Quinn remained where she was a top the boxcar. Mack had climbed into the car a while ago, but Quinn wanted to just enjoy the feeling of freedom. She was waiting for the stars to come out.<p>

She remained motionless with her arms casually folded behind her head, her left leg lazily stretched out and her right ankle crossing her left knee. The sky was turning purple showing the day light fade away, giving its last hurrah. She felt more at peace in this transitioning moment than she had in the past two years. Everything in the surrounding landscape whirred by, the sound of steel grinding against steel and the whoosh of wind around her blended into white noise giving her the ability to concentrate on the nothingness and the sky. It helped calm her tensed muscles, something exceedingly rare for Quinn.

The sun was almost completely gone now and the stars were taking its place. Quinn heaved a sigh and started naming constellations in her head as they appeared. It didn't take long for the sun to dip fully beyond the horizon. It took the remaining warmth with it and she felt herself shiver. The speed the train was traveling causing a cold wind to blow around her. She tucked her leather jacket further around her and pulled the straps of her backpack closer to the center of her chest. She heard a loud _bang _and felt the metal beneath her quiver, having been hit with something. Her eyebrows scrunched up, but she crawled over to the entrance and proceeded to climb into the car the same way Mack had. Climbing through the opening at the top of the boxcar and hesitating before she dropped fully into the space below. She landed with a loud _thug_ and her knees bent to take the impact of her fall. It had definitely been further than she anticipated, and she landed on her ass.

When she looked up Mack was smirking at her with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Took you long enough, did you pass out?" She asked. Quinn smirked back and shook her head.

"Totally, shit wrecked drunk." She said sarcastically and Mack laughed moving forward to help her up. Quinn took the offered hand and stood.

"What was that bang?" she asked.

"I was trying to get your attention, and it seemed to work. The sun went down, so it wouldn't be long before it get's too cold to be out there anymore. Plus, I'm out of cigarettes, since your bitch ass stole my last pack yesterday, and I want one." Mack replied walking over to a corner opposite the open freight door. She gestured for Quinn to follow her which she did.

"Stole? You mean earned, because I won that bet fair and square." She said pulling the pack out of the inner pocket of her jacket. She felt her phone in the same pocket and hesitated for a moment, before Mack started snapping her fingers. It wasn't easy to hear, but she saw it and she pulled the cigarettes out and smacked Mack's hand away.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting them. Just piss off for a god damn second." Quinn said also retrieving her lighter from the other pocket. She pulled a cigarette out and handed Mack the pack, before she sat down in the corner her friend had claimed as their living space for however long. She tried to flick her lighter on but whenever she did it just went out. It was a lot less windy in here than it was out there, but still too much so to light it. She cursed.

"Here, let me show you how this is done." Mack said grabbing the lighter and her pack. She unzipped it stuck her face and the lighter into the open pocket and lit her cigarette. She pulled it back out and handed the lighter to Quinn. Mack had a self satisfied look on her face and Quinn rolled her eyes, before repeating Mack's trick. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Quinn allowed the smoke in her lungs to saturate her blood with nicotine and relax her body. She sighed contented as it took its effect quickly.

She went to tuck the cigarettes and lighter back into her jacket and felt her phone again, this time she only hesitated for a moment, before retrieving it and looking at the device. She remembered the messages from earlier.

Although she was slightly annoyed at Brittany, Santana, and Rachel for not just leaving her alone, she couldn't help but feel…something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was there. As much as she tried to ignore it, she was feeling something. The thought made her uneasy, and pushing the feeling away obviously wasn't working, so she figured she'd try the next best thing: confront it enough so it stops nagging.

She opened the contacts on her phone and found the name she wanted. She clicked it and selected 'new message'. She sighed still not entirely sure what to write. She took a deep drag of her cigarette before typing.

_Thanks.-Q_

Sending the message, she returned to her contacts and found another name. Repeating the same steps as before; smoke, select, text, she started typing as she exhaled a cloud.

_How did you even find me?-Q_

This time as she hit send her phone vibrated. Brittany's name popped up with 'new text message'. When she opened it she just shook her head with a smirk.

_You're welcome! I'm glad you got it. I wasn't sure Rachel was going to be able to find you because San said you went to Narnia, but I guess if anyone could it would be her. Santana does say she's part dwarf. Anyways, like we said we are here for you. I love you, Q. This summer is different without you.-B_

She had purposefully not texted Santana because she was not in the mood to deal with that right now. Things had always been easier with Brittany. It was a known fact that she was the glue in their friendship. Santana and she were far too much alike. It was often times like looking in a mirror, and that is exactly what Quinn had hoped to avoid. She sighed, finished her cigarette, and replied to Brittany.

_Yeah. It is different.-Q_

She didn't know what else there was to say. Maybe she did miss them, maybe she didn't, it was just easier to ignore any feelings. She looked up and Mack was staring at her.

"What?" she questioned coolly.

"Nothing. So, do you have any idea where you want to go? The world is your oyster, Lion Quinn." Mack said shoving her roughly in the arm. Quinn elbowed her in the side and shrugged.

"No fucking idea. Where is this thing headed anyway?" She asked shifting her head to look out of the large open space in front of them. The darkness was moving by swiftly, but the moon was full so there was plenty of light, and a lot of stars were visible from where she sat.

"I have no clue. All I know is when we hopped on we were heading west." Mack replied as she dug through her bag and retrieved some food. Mack occupied herself with her apple and Quinn looked back at her phone. She hadn't felt it vibrate, but there were two new messages. She opened the first one.

_I hope we see you soon.-B_

Quinn just sighed and closed the message. She wasn't necessarily surprised to see the next one, but she was a little confused. Not just from the fact she'd gotten the reply, she had been expecting that after Rachel came to tell her she could talk to her. She didn't think Rachel was the kind of person to offer empty promises, but she was confused as to _why_ exactly Rachel had offered in the first place. She opened the message and read through it twice.

_Quinn! I was starting to think you wouldn't be taking me up on my offer; it's nice to hear from you. As for how I found you, it's a long story. I'm relentless when I have my heart set on something, and being captain of the Glee club I thought it best to track you down.-Rachel_

Quinn rolled her eyes. Rachel even talked too much via text. She knew Rachel wouldn't give up on something as soon as she set her mind to it. Oddly it was one of the things about the other girl that Quinn both admired and found incessantly irritating. She took her time replying not exactly knowing what to say to this girl, or if she even wanted to say something to her.

_Whatever. I'm not taking you up on any offer. Who even cares if you're captain of the Glee club, hobbit? First of all I'm not part of the Glee club. Second, why would you need to track me down anyway?-Q_

Quinn stared at her phone annoyed. The Glee club? Who cares about the stupid Glee club? None of them would ever understand her, and none of them would ever try, and it's not like she wanted them to anyway. It was a waste of her time. That whole school was a waste of her time. It didn't take long for Rachel to reply, this time Quinn hesitated before opening it.

_Quinn, I understand that you're upset, but that doesn't give you the right to attack me. I'm merely trying to tell you that, even though you don't feel you're part of it anymore, the Glee club does care about you. I didn't feel you should be alone on your birthday. It's that simple. Now if you're going to continue to be so rude, then don't bother responding. Remember, if you need it, I'm here for you. When you're ready.-Rachel_

Quinn let out a frustrated groan and shoved her phone back in her pocket. There was no way she could respond without being a bitch. Rachel never knew when to leave well enough alone. She always had a habit of sticking her nose in other people's business. Like the time when she told Finn that the baby she was carrying was actually Puck's and not his. Not that she was really mad at Berry at the time, but there's a principle.

"Damn it!" Quinn shouted stomping her foot on the ground and throwing her head back against the freight. Mack jumped at the sudden outburst.

"What the fuck, Quinn?" she asked looking at Quinn with wide irritated eyes.

Quinn went though the process of lighting another cigarette and inhaled deeply. Now because of Berry, she was thinking about Finn and Puck and the baby they gave away. This was not acceptable.

Mack took in the stiff set of her friend's shoulder, not that they weren't always tense, but this is how she looked when she was especially irritated about something. So she dug through her bag and pulled out a bottle and shook it in front of Quinn's face.

"You need to chill the fuck out. Here." She said as Quinn looked at her with an eyebrow cocked. It didn't take her long to decide that the alcohol would be a great distraction.

"What happened to not being stupid enough to do this drunk?" Quinn asked unscrewing the cap and taking a swig of the brown liquid. "Mmm, well this is a step up."

"That's fucking right. Stole it from the 'rents liquor cabinet, nice Irish Whiskey. And we're not trying to hop on the train now. We're already on it, we can get as shit wrecked as we want. Just don't fall out." Mack said taking the bottle and drinking some herself.

"So what's got your cotton grannies all in a twist anyway?" Mack asked handing the bottle back. Quinn socked her hard in the arm and took a good five second chug.

"Not a god damn thing." She said as her head started getting fuzzy and her stomach started warming up. Mack stood up abruptly.

"I've got it! The perfect place for us to go." She said shooting her hand out for the bottle. Quinn smirked and handed the bottle back after one more pull.

"And where is that?" she asked her overly exuberant friend.

"Wyoming and Montana." She said mater-o-factly. Quinn's eyebrow shot up of its own accord and her mouth fell open slightly. She was a little more than skeptical of what Wyoming and Montana held for them that Ohio didn't.

"What? Oookay. And why would we go there?" She asked.

"Because I say." Mack said taking another long pull and proceeding to nearly fall over backwards. "Wooh!" she shouted and sat back next to Quinn and pushed the bottle into Quinn's chest.

"Lion Quinn, you've got to relax. It's got to be difficult and extremely uncomfortable to keep that stick so far up your ass all the time." She said and dodged the fist that was headed straight for her face.

"Shut up, bitch." Quinn said glaring at her. "Seriously why would we go there? California is more what I was thinking. Or I'd even understand Washington, but Wyoming and Montana?"

Quinn looked at her through skeptic eyes for a moment long before Mack grabbed the bottle and held it up to Quinn's mouth. She took the pull and started coughing when Mack didn't pull away for a few seconds longer than anticipated. She wiped her mouth off on her sleeve, but felt the calming effects of her drunk coming on. Mack just nodded and smiled.

"Well see, that's expected. California is every American runaway's destination. But we're not going to fall into the pattern expected of us. Oh, no. We're making our own plan. And Washington sucks. Isn't that where that stupid vampire book takes place? I'm not going to some rainy depressing state to meet some sparkling gay vampire and his whiny bitch of a gay beard. No, we are going to do something that holds adventure. Have you ever been to The Grand Tetons or Yellowstone? That shit is rad."

Quinn thought about it for a moment. Her friend was right about California being the go to, but she was sort of into it. She'd always wanted to go to San Francisco.

"Why not San Francisco?" she asked. Mack rolled her eyes.

"Because that's where all the fucking burn out east coast hippies have taken over. They're just a bunch of assholes. Plus do you know how hard it is to sneak into a city from a freight train? It's fucking difficult. I almost got arrested when I did it, and no thank you, I don't look good in prison bitch orange."

Quinn couldn't suppress the laugh that came out at Mack's statement. She thought about the whole proposition for another moment and drank some more as she did. The idea was appealing. She'd never been, her father said it was a filthy poor man's vacation, only people who wanted to walk around and look at dirt and disgusting animals did stuff like go to Yellowstone. Quinn smirked. Fuck her father.

"I'm in." Quinn said and Mack raised her hand for a high five.

"Fuck yeah! That's right, I know I have awesome ideas. Anyways don't you like animals and photography or some shit like that, you fucking hipster?" she mocked and Quinn once again went to hit her but half way through switched direction and grabbed the bottle back from Mack.

"Whatever." Was all Quinn said and threw back the bottle. She was already drunk, but getting hammered enough to fall asleep was her goal.

"Slow down there killer, that's good whiskey." Mack said grabbing Quinn's shoulder and gesturing for the bottle back. Quinn shrugged and wiped her mouth as she handed the now half empty bottle back. The burn in her throat and stomach was quieting her surroundings. She stood on shaky feet and swayed, catching herself on the wall before she fell. She didn't notice Mack eyeing her, making sure her friend was alright. Quinn walked towards the open car door and Mack tensed, but relaxed when Quinn leaned against the wall and slid down.

She liked to cool air on her suddenly overly hot body. She looked down at herself, smiling at the jacket and hugging it closer to her. She leaned her head back on the wall and watched the expanse of plains roll by under silver moon light, every now and then looking up at the stars and how they never seemed to move, no matter how fast they went. It gave her a sense of peace and stability.

"At least some things never change." She whispered to herself. She glanced back at her counter part. Mack was lying on her back pack with her coat pulled over her head, obviously falling asleep. Quinn just looked back out the door and watched until her eyes grew heavy and she let sleep take her.


	5. Close Calls

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Glee**

**It's been a while since I updated, and this is kind of a filler chapter, but I've got a good idea of where this is heading. **

**Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas for Quinn and Mack's adventure. **

******Cheers**

* * *

><p>Quinn started waking up when the feeling of motion around her started to slow. Normally she would have rolled over and ignored it, and she would have this time had it not been for the sounds of people shouting incoherently over the sound of the brakes. She sat up quickly, poking her head out from the open train door. It was a bright and clear blue day, and she could see trees and a beautiful landscape passing the car, but up ahead she could see what looked like where trains go to rust and die. That's not what had her up and running toward Mack on the other side of the car to wake her though. It was the police cars parked near the tracks. Quinn slammed to her knees at the same time as she grabbed Mack by the collar and began shaking the sleeping brunette awake.<p>

"Mack. Mack! Wake the fuck up!" she said with a harsh whisper and a slap to Mack's face for emphasis. Mack's eyes shot open and she grabbed Quinn's wrists and glared at her.

"What the fuck, Q? What's got your panties in a twist?" Quinn rolled her eyes but didn't release Mack's collar.

"Take one second, and tell me what's missing." She answered.

Still half asleep, Mack took more than a second and Quinn all but lifted her off the floor by her jacket and drug her to the open door and shoved her head in the direction of the cops. Mack snapped to attention.

"Shit. We're at a train yard." She said as she pulled away from the door. Quinn stepped back and crossed her arms and a perfect eyebrow raised in true head bitch Fabray fashion.

"No shit, genius." She snapped. "What do we do now?"

"Honestly?" Mack inquired grabbing her pack. Quinn nodded following suit with her own.

"Honestly, they're checking cars. They won't check them all, but some. Definitely this one because it's open. Honestly, we're not getting out of here without getting spotted. So honestly, we're fucked unless we can get out of here and into those woods fast enough." Mack said pointing across the track running parallel to the one their train was one. Quinn smirked. She never thought she'd truly be thankful for Sue Sylvester until this moment. Speed and agility got her captain of the Cheerios nationally ranked squad at 15.

"That I can do. But what about when we get into the woods?"

Mack poked her head back out of the door. When she turned around she spoke again.

"We've got a few minutes tops, but once we get to the woods it's just a matter of finding a town or following the tracks to a different place, preferably not crawling with bulls."

Quinn stood thinking about what it would be like to get arrested. Being on the tracks was a federal crime. Not just state or county, you're big timed fucked if you get caught train hopping. Had it been sometime a year or so ago, Quinn might have cared or even been afraid. However; as it was, she could feel the sour smile forming on her face and the adrenaline pumping getting ready for the impending chase and trouble.

"So," Mack began as she took in Quinn's features, "I'm taking it you're in?" Quinn just nodded and adjusted her pack.

"Well okay then, let's go before they get any closer, we'll need the head start. Get ready, just follow me. On three."

They moved towards the open door and took a look at where the police were patrolling different cars a few meters away. Mack looked at Quinn and nodded before looking towards the tree line that was a good sprint away across another track and down a rock levee.

Quinn felt the adrenaline pumping excitement through her veins, her heart was hammering against her rib cage, she bent her knees slightly to prepare to leap from the train and make a run for it.

"One…" her heart was drumming in her ears "two…" she'd never felt so excited and nervous about something in her life since…

"THREE!" she didn't finish her thought as she hurled herself away from the ledge and onto the rock covered ground with a loud crunch under her boots. As soon as her feet made contact she was off. Mack stumbled a little on the uneven ricks but Quinn's legs held sure and she flew forward past her friend. She had tunnel vision and she could barely hear the shouting of "Stop" and "Freeze" coming from the railroad bulls because her heart was in between her ears. She started scurry sliding down the steep grade of the train levee, only briefly sparing a glance behind her. Seeing that Mack was right there she continued her charge forward. Her boots made contact with the level ground beyond the tracks and she ran as fast as her ex Cheerio legs would allow her; pushing herself forward, not realizing Mack had now fallen about three meters behind her.

She finally made it into the tree line and looked over her shoulder coming to a stop to turn around, she didn't see the brunette and she heard shouting. Then she heard the tell tale sign of converse on dirt and sticks and Mack barreled into her.

"Run! Don't stop!"

Quinn didn't need more encouragement as her body was still humming with energy and she took off again this time staying beside Mack.

Quinn loved running. It was the reason she'd originally joined the Cheerios, she had heard of Sue's rigorous cardio training. Something about it was so freeing. In a world where everything was ruled and manners and perfection, running had been Quinn's escape. She never paid attention to how far or long she ran, she just ran until the ache in her limbs was the only ache she could focus on, and then she ran some more.

That may have been the reason why she hadn't noticed Mack starting to drag a mile back as she struggled to keep up with a seemingly unphased Quinn. It may also have been why she didn't notice the sound of rushing water coming from directly in front of her path.

"Quinn! Stop! STOP!" Quinn finally registered Mack shouting at her from far behind her, and she managed to get her legs to stop moving before she took a dip in the river that had sprung out of the landscape. Stopping so quickly caused her to slip on the mud surrounding the bank and she slid onto her back with an "oof". Mack came running up to her and leaned over Quinn resting her hands on her knees and panting heavily.

"Je-Jesus Christ, Quinn. Y-you are fucking…insane." Mack said before plopping down on her back next to Quinn. "I tried to tell you…we could have stopped…like two miles ago."

Quinn was finally coming down from the adrenaline and felt dazed. She ran a hand over her face and through her pink hair before looking over at Mack. Mack was covered in sweat and her chest was moving quickly up and down.

"That was incredible." Quinn told her.

"_You_ say incredible. You're nuts. Like legit a machine. I mean it's not like I'm out of shape, sure I smoke, but so do you….How even…?"

The girl with pink hair shrugged and sat up to look around.

"I just like running. Where are we?" Quinn continued to look around, though no reply came from Mack. She thought it was all pretty beautiful, from the river to the trees surrounding it, the sun was shining through the leaves perfectly, warming the exposed parts of the floor of the woods. After gazing for a few moments she looked back down to find Mack staring at her with a smirk. She gave her a quizzical look before shrugging it off and walking towards her with a hand out offering to help her up. Mack accepted and Quinn pulled her to her feet easily.

"I have no idea where we are." She said and looked around for a moment, glancing up and down the river. "Let's find out." She said and started walking away. Quinn was only left behind for a moment before she realized Mack was walking away and she caught up.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for them to find out exactly where they were. The signs saying "welcome to Omaha" told them they'd made it several states away from Ohio in one night. The thought made Quinn giddy with elation. Getting away from that shit hole town where she'd left so much more shit behind just made her happier that she let Mack drag her to another crap city, anything was better than Lima, really. It took them most of the day to walk from the river to the city. It wasn't particularly far, but they weren't in any rush.<p>

By the time they made it to some hole in the wall bar in town the sun was making its way towards the horizon in the western sky. Mack had spotted the small lit up sign from down the road and decided that a night of music and drinks sounded like the best plan. Just as they were about to walk up the cracked and creaking wooden steps to the door where the bouncer, some guy in a plaid cut off shirt and jeans, was watching them with his arms crossed Quinn nudged Mack and whispered.

"And how exactly are we going to get in?" Mack leaned her head to the side just slightly.

"Don't worry it won't take much, you got twenty bucks?" Quinn frowned as they made their way up and the large man put his hand out.

"Sorry, ladies, I'm going to need to see some I.D."

"No it's okay, Quinn show the man who we came with." Quinn was skeptical, but what'd she have to lose? Worse case scenario they get turned away, she pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to the guy. He eyed them for a moment before stepping to the side and letting them in.

"Welcome to Dirty Tricks." Quinn was surprised by how little that really did take as she followed Mack into the bar.

"What's up, everyone!" Someone said from the stage catching Quinn's attention she was busy looking around when Mack grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the bar, maneuvering them through all the bodies. For being small, the place was pretty packed with an assortment of people. Most of them were wearing jeans and t-shirts, nothing too out of the ordinary. Quinn didn't protest, just let herself be led. When they reached the bar Mack drummed her hands on the wood and the bartender: a guy with short light brown hair and a muscular build walked over throwing a rag over his shoulder.

"What can I get you two beautiful ladies?" he asked with a wink. Quinn scoffed and Mack raised an eyebrow. It wasn't that Quinn didn't find him attractive, he was, she just hated when guys thought they could sweet talk anything with breasts by giving them a wink and a cheesy grin. Before she realized what she was saying her words were out of her mouth.

"Does that really work on women around here?" Mack elbowed her subtly in the side. The bartender just laughed and shrugged.

"Enough times that I still use it as an opening line. You two new around here?" he asked kindly dropping all the macho man bravado. It gave Quinn enough respect for him to let Mack answer without her giving a snide comment.

"Fresh off the train. So who's up?" she asked falling easily into conversation. Quinn's eyes continued to shift around the place. There was a band finishing tuning their instruments and warming up the crowed with vulgar comments that made her smirk.

"Well you're just in time, _Cursive _is doing a small show here while they're back in town. What'll you have?"

"Get whatever you wouldn't give your worst enemy and make ours a double." Mack said and the bartender nodded.

"You got it." He said and walked away. Quinn turned her full attention to the people on stage when they started playing. It was rough and loud and kind of all over the place and Quinn loved every second of it. She watched as the crowd started moving. Some people were just tapping their feet or bobbing their heads like she was, and others were getting rowdy and pulling each other around. She heard the singer begin to sing into the microphone, though you could barely hear it over the sounds from their distorted guitars. She felt like there was no place she'd rather be. Especially when Mack tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a glass.

She took a long pull from the glass, pleased to find a more expensive whiskey than the Jack Daniel's she'd been used to. She didn't expect that from a place like this, but was pleasantly surprised none the less. Mack tapped her on the shoulder and whispered so closely to hear ear Quinn could feel her warm breath on her skin. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge and sent a shiver down her spine as she focused on what Mack was saying.

"Jared said these were on the house. I don't think I ever want to leave." Quinn looked over at her and grinned.

"Jared? On a first name basis now? Can we at least find somewhere to crash before you bang some random?" Mack punched Quinn in the side and smiled drinking from her own glass downing half of it. She made a face when she finished and threw her arm up in the air.

"Woohoo!" She shouted and started moving around to the anything-but-rhythmic sound of the music. Quinn smiled and took a long chug of her own and let herself loosen up a little. This place was incredible. It was a shit hole in Omaha and the music was definitely not something many would like, but it was still awesome. Maybe it was the fact that she was drinking, yet again, or that she was just away on her own doing whatever the fuck she wanted to, but this felt amazing.

As the night went on Quinn got more and more drunk and the world was getting more and more hazy. She eventually tapped Mack on the shoulder and gestured outside. She wanted a cigarette and she'd just finished her fourth drink, that's as good a time as any to head out for a breather. Mack just nodded and Quinn walked out the side door to the alley taking a cigarette out of her pack and lighting it in one fluid motion. There were already some other people in the alley chatting and smoking and some other people stumbled out of the door after her. She moved over to the side and leaned against a wall.

Everything was foggy in her mind and she felt light, like she was swimming. This whiskey was definitely better than the stuff she bought. It burned all the way down, and kept her stomach warm. She had a lazy grin on her face as she let out a puff of smoke. She stared up at the neon sign above her. She wanted to remember it, even after tonight, the shitty bar she made her first stop out of Lima. She shrugged her pack off again and reached in to pull out her phone. As she fumbled around with it she noticed she had a few new messages. Undoubtedly, one was from her mother. As she opened them she was not surprised that, yes, one was from Judy, but she was surprised the other was from Berry. She really thought she'd leave her alone now. Fortunately for Quinn, this higher grade of whiskey made for her to not care. She quickly skimmed the one from her mother before deleting it. Something about "where the hell are you" and "you better not be in jail" with just a hint of worry that Quinn couldn't be buggered to care about.

The next one though she read through with a little more focus. It intrigued and irritated her as to why Berry thought it was a good idea to keep bugging her after their little encounter at the truck stop.

_Hello, Quinn. I do hope you're doing alright. I know you probably don't want to, but remember if you need to talk, I'm here. –R_

Quinn rolled her eyes and let out another breath of smoke. She really thought Berry would get the hint, and then an idea hit her. Why not let Rachel know she was just fine? Maybe make it a little clearer that she could just leave her alone? She hit exit from her messages and proceeded to do what she initially intended with her phone.

Holding her phone up to the neon sign that said "Dirty Tricks" and under that on the small marquee a few bands and _Cursive_ under those, she took a picture. Bringing the phone back to eye level she smiled. Going back to the text from Rachel she attached the picture and hit send. Just as she was pocketing her phone Mack came stumbling out of the door and giggling.

"Q! What are you doing? You're missing the set!" She made her way wobbly over to where Quinn was standing and pulled her back inside. "There's only a few songs left! We need more drinks and Jared told me of a small motel back out on the outskirts he'd drop us at once they closed."

"You want me to get in the car of some bartender we just met so he can drive us to the outskirts of town alone?" Quinn had to shout now the music was loud again. Mack just nodded and raised her hand to Jared holding up to fingers, to which he nodded and poured more drinks.

"That's exactly what I want. Come on, there's two of us, and one of him. We'll be fine." Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe she just really didn't care, but Quinn agreed.

"Sweet! Here!" she handed the drink over to Quinn and the continued watching the band on stage and the bodies sway in front of them.

* * *

><p>Once the music was over the crowded bar cleared out pretty quickly. Quinn was now good and hammered sitting in the back of Jared's car, her head lolling to the side while she watched street lights go by.<p>

"Are you ladies sure you don't want to come back to my place for the night?" Jared asked. Quinn just laughed, not even caring about his attempt at flirting.

"Take us to a motel, and leave." She said through a lazy smile.

"Alright, alright. We're here anyway." He said as they pulled up to another neon sign with a flickering vacancy light.

"Five star. Nice." Quinn said sarcastically.

"Nicest digs we got here for cheap." Jared shrugged. Quinn just shook her head, the way this guy acted reminded her of a certain boy back home with a Mohawk. She cleared her mind of the thought and opened the car door nudging Mack in the front seat, obviously sound asleep.

"Damn it." Quinn huffed. Mack was passed out. Quinn still had to go in and get a motel room.

"How am I supposed to get her inside and get a room?" She said and Jared laughed.

"Look, just go get the room, I'll wait here with her." She eyed him, she wasn't nearly stupid enough, no matter how drunk, to leave her attractive friend with a man she didn't know in his car.

"I don't think so." She said. He rolled his eyes and killed the ignition and pulled the keys out.

"Here, take these with you. I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'll just wait with her so you can get a room." He said with a genuine look on his face. Quinn gave him one last look and grabbed the keys.

"Fine but I'll find you if anything happens to her." She said with her wickedest glare. He raised his hands defensively and nodded.

Quinn rushed into the front desk and got the key to a room, paid, and made it back out to the car in quick time considering how drunk she was. She opened Mack's door and shook her friend.

"I don't think that's going to work." Jared said.

"I think you're right." She groaned and handed him his keys. "And thanks for, you know, sticking around."

"You're welcome. Do you need help getting her inside?" Quinn didn't like the idea of needing help, but she had to get their bags and carrying Mack along with those wasn't going to be an easy task, so she relented.

"Probably." Jared got out of his side and walked over to where Quinn was and she grabbed their bags before making her way towards their room for the night.

Once she opened the door she moved out of the way so Jared could carry her friend inside and put her on the bed. Quinn was starting to get closer to passing out as she leaned up against the door frame.

"You two gonna be alright?" Jared asked walking towards the door. She nodded. "Your friend has got my number in her phone if you need anything."

"Thanks, I appreciate what you've done for us."

"You're welcome, but…" he began glancing between the two girls. "Be careful, not everyone will be so kind."

"Yeah." She said and stood up as straight as she could only half listening to him. "Goodnight." That was her nice way of letting him know it was time to leave. She could feel her mind starting to shut off and she needed to lie down. Jared simply nodded and walked out and she closed the door behind him and locked it.

She walked to Mack and pulled her boots off and then stumbled to her side of the queen bed. Messily pulling her jacket off and throwing it on the floor, then repeating the same with her boots she fell face first into the bed. She felt a something putting uncomfortable pressure on her thigh and pulled her phone from her pocket. Through heavy lids she noticed the new message light and unlocked the screen. Not even looking at the sender she opened it.

_Quinn, are you at a bar?-R_

Quinn couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth at the thought of the look on Rachel's face when she realized it was a bar. She let the phone drop from her hand to the bed and passed out.


End file.
